


Sleep, Little Soldier

by bookl0ver



Series: Prompt Fills [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23934235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bookl0ver/pseuds/bookl0ver
Summary: Based on the angst prompt: Why are you awake right now?
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Series: Prompt Fills [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880095
Comments: 8
Kudos: 71





	Sleep, Little Soldier

**Author's Note:**

> Another angst prompt. Contains some discussions of war and nightmares. If this may be triggering for you, please feel free to not read. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Ben stirred, something having disturbed his sleep and woken him up. Patting behind him, his heart clenched at the cold spot on the mattress. Callum was gone. 

Panic filled his chest and he rolled out of bed, shoving his glasses on his face and tucking his hearing aid into his ear. Him and Callum had the house to themselves, so he didn’t both covering up his naked body. 

“Callum?” He called softly, wandering out. 

A light from the kitchen caught his attention and he quietly padded over, stilling when he caught sight of his boyfriend. 

Callum was curled in a ball, smashed glass surrounding him, sobbing quietly. 

“Babe?” Ben gasped, worry filling him. 

Callum’s head jerked up and he stared at Ben guiltily. 

“I’m fine Ben, go back to bed.” His voice was rough and strained, eyes red from tears that had tracked down his face. He tried to throw Ben a watery smile that only worried Ben further. 

“Babe, what happened?” Ben took a step forward, gaze flickering from his boyfriend to the glass surrounding him. 

“No-Nothing, I’m fine babe.” Callum insisted, wiping his eyes harshly. “I’ll sort this out.” 

“Don’t lie to me.” 

Callum stared down at the ground in response to Ben’s firm tone, looking chastened. 

“Stay there, I’m going to clean this up.” 

Silence descended over the flat as Ben hurried back to the bedroom to throw some clothes on and grab his dressing gown for Callum to wear. He grabbed the dust pan and brush, and headed back to the kitchen and began sweeping up. Once he was sure the glass was all taken care of, he returned to Callum, who was sat silently in Ben’s dressing gown. 

Pulling him up, he led him over to the sofa. 

“I’m sorry for waking you up.” Callum mumbled, staring at his knees. 

“That’s not the issue babe, I’m more concerned with why you’re even awake in the first place.” 

Callum took a deep breath and fiddled with his hands, deliberately avoiding Ben’s eyes. Silence enveloped them, and Ben was sure Callum wasn’t going to respond at all. 

“I had a nightmare.” The words were hurried and quiet, shame clouding them. Callum hunched in on himself, the tips of his ears turning red. 

“Oh, baby,” Ben shuffled closer to Callum, tentatively wrapping his arm over his shoulders. At the soft touch Callum crumbled, tears rolling down his cheeks as he pressed his face against Ben’s shirt. 

“Wanna tell me about it?” Ben asked softly, rubbing Callum’s back soothingly. Callum shook his head, clinging to Ben tighter. 

He knew what it was about anyway. Memories of explosions, of gunfire and screaming children wrecking Callum’s mind, tormenting him. This wasn’t an isolated incident; it happened more nights than not. The smashed glass was new though. 

“What happened with the glass?” 

A small sound somewhere between a choked laugh and a sob escaped Callum and he pulled away, wiping at his face. 

“I, I went to get a drink. And I just... I couldn’t make it stop.” Callum’s hands clenched into fists and he bit down hard on his lip. “The screams Ben, they never go away. I just want them to stop. Why can’t I make them stop?” 

Slowly standing up, Ben urged Callum to follow. They stood there, hands entwined. After a long moment, Callum’s tears subsided, breaths calming. Finally, he raised his head to look at Ben. 

“Cal, you’re amazing, but you’re only human. What you saw, what you went through was awful, and ignoring it won’t make it go away.” 

“I’m a man, Ben, I should be strong, strong enough to-" 

“No.” The single word was quiet, but it was enough to silence Callum. 

“You need help, Callum. This isn’t working, trying to cope on your own.” 

Callum squeezed his hand softly, eyes filling up once more. Ben squeezed back, reaching up to cup Callum’s cheek.

“Tomorrow, we’ll sort something out, okay?” A hesitant nod, and Ben smiled softly. “But for now, let’s get back to bed, eh?” 

Another nod and they made their way back to bed, removing their clothes and sliding beneath the covers. They lay together, quiet and content for a peaceful moment in time. 

As Callum began to drift off, Ben’s voice whispered in his ear. 

“Sleep. I’ll protect you, always protect you Cal. I love you.” 

For the rest of the night, Callum slept soundly, Ben at his back, keeping the nightmares away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, feel free to leave comments and kudos, they are all greatly appreciated. 
> 
> Have a lovely day!


End file.
